(Morgan Freeman is Crazy Joe Clark)
KANSAS CITY, KS – The growth of new business and commerce in Kansas City, Kan. is definitely a pleasant sight for sore economic eyes. The construction of retail shops, entertainment venues, and residential subdivisions has created an aura of confidence and pride in what used to be a famished economy; particularly from the mid 1980’s to the late 2000’s. The rash of new development is certainly unprecedented in Kansas City, Kan. Now the focus should shift to an area that deserves our immediate attention: EDUCATION. As many of us are painfully aware, the public perception of the Kansas City, Kan. School District is not too positive.
The bad reputation, I would imagine, has already caused hundreds of resident defections in recent years as many families have moved on to enroll their children in what are perceived to be better school districts. For instance, I still keep in touch with several of my old friends from J.C. Harmon High School. Most have obtained college degrees and, as a byproduct, are gainfully employed; earning fairly decent income. However, out of a group of 10, guess how many live in Wyandotte County today? 0. That’s right. The big goose egg. And get this: they all reside in neighboring jurisdictions such as Johnson, Jackson, and Leavenworth counties. When asked to clarify their decision to leave KCK, the responses were predictably similar: most feared sending their children to USD #500.
This is difficult to say, but their reason certainly has merit. Earlier this year, I had a chance to tour a high school in Kansas City, Kan. I won’t mention the name of the institution to protect the innocent. However, I left the campus terribly disappointed, and I’ll explain why. The hallways were patrolled by security guards in a fashion normally reserved for correctional facilities. An irate student, after causing a big ruckus near the front office, was promptly handcuffed by police officers; while other students stared and laughed. The teachers, from what I observed, appeared generally overmatched by their students. And too many kids were forced to work through repetitive ‘class clown’ distractions.
The scene was reminiscent of Eastside High School in Michael Schiffer’s 1989 film classic “Lean on me.” And I’m talking about the unruly conditions that existed well before Principal Joe Clark (pictured above) took office. “You’ve tried it your way for years, and your students can’t even pass the State’s Minimum Basic Skills Test. THAT MEANS THEY CAN BARELY READ!,” yelled Joe Clark to the stunned faculty of Eastside High. “Now, they’ve given me one year to turn this place around – to get those test scores up – so that the State will not take us over to perform the task which YOU have failed to accomplish: the task of EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN!” I must admit; the undisclosed institution wasn’t peppered with as much graffiti as Joe Clark’s school in Paterson, New Jersey. And the hallways weren’t nearly as volatile. But the atmosphere, nonetheless, was eerily similar. Before I proceed, the intent of this column is not to cast judgment on USD #500 officials. Unfavorable scholastic conditions are certainly not exclusive to Kansas City, Kan. As a matter of fact, thousands of academic institutions throughout the U.S. suffer from the same illness.
Nevertheless, if public officials plan to maximize Wyandotte County’s full economic potential, the quality of education must improve substantially. Struggling school districts, needless to say, will drive a family out of town in a heartbeat. As I mentioned in an earlier column, citydata.com reports Kansas City, Kan. residents earn a rather pedestrian median income of $36,000; compared with 48,000 for the rest of Kansas. That number could improve drastically if more high salary residents were enticed to stay home. Think about it. Does the quality of education play a huge role in a family’s decision to relocate? You darn skippy! Also, let’s not underestimate the correlation that exists between poor education and high crime rates.
• According to the Child Trends DataBank, high school dropouts are more likely to commit crimes.
• The same source reports that young adults with low education and skill levels are more likely to live in poverty and receive government assistance.
• Most importantly, high school dropouts are also unlikely to possess the minimum basic skills and credentials necessary to function in today’s increasingly complex society and high-tech job market.
These skills become even more significant as globalization in the areas of technology and finance continues to expand worldwide. See, people must realize it’s not as easy to land employment today without a high school education as it was 30 years ago. Job outsourcing has eliminated hundreds of thousands of labor intensive/industrial jobs in the U.S. But, hey, we’ll save the international business lecture for another column. Today, the focus is Kansas City, Kan. students. And too many, in my view, are being asked to perform in classroom conditions not conducive to productive learning.
Let’s not kid ourselves; teachers have their backs against the wall too. Due to state budget cuts and other restraints, many educators are forced into the precarious situation of having to do more with a lot less. The general lack of parent participation only adds kerosene to the education fire. That said, it’s imperative both parents and teachers remain optimistic. Apathy should no longer be an option. In order to achieve economic greatness; the public school system must rise about mediocrity.
‘Crazy Joe Clark’ said it best. “So forget about the way it used to be. This is not a damn democracy! We are in a state of emergency and my word is law! There’s only one boss in this place, and that’s me.” Tell ‘em Joe. Now let’s hope more parents and educators react the same way.
Wayne Hodges, an MBA from St. Mary University, is the Editor-in-Chief of MassAppealNews.com. He is also an adjunct professor, MPA at Kansas University, and intern with the Kansas Senate.
Comments
Nice article! The quality of KCK schools have always been poor because school board officials are not being held accountable. The kids deserve alot better than what they’re offering.
Wayne, I agree with you. I used to send my kids to KCK schools but I pulled them out because the teachers did not have control. It’s sad because KCK schools used to be so much better in the 1980’s. What happened?
Hey Wayne, you are right on with this article. I have previously worked for Wyandotte Mental Health Center as a Case Manager and I provide quite a few of psycho-social classes for USD 500. I was both astounded and saddened by my experience in KCK Schools. Great Article!!
Once again, Wayne you have hit the nail on the head. I would never in a hundred years send my daughter to a KCK high school; unless it’s Sumner Academy. These problems have been going on for years now. Somebody needs to do something fast.
GREAT ARTICLE MY BROTHER!! KEEP TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT IMPORTANT ISSUES HERE IN THE DOTTE… NICE WORK!
Hey, wait a minute. Kansas City, Kansas schools might have some issues, but the issues do not only lie in the school board officials hands–parents have to take some responsiblity too. Why should a teacher have to teach and raise children too? I attended Wyandotte High School and am proud of it! My parents took an active role in my education and was involved in making certain that I behaved and respected my elders.
Wayne, I appreciate you writing this article, but as you mentioned in the beginning that it is a “perception” of what people think about Kansas City, Kansas schools. What can we as role models do to help change this perception, oppose to running away? Do we get that educated that we run and forget to reach back and grab the hand of of a lost child?
Please let me remind you that crime happens in other counties too. We are never too “educated” that crime overlooks us–no matter where we are.
In fact, look at Colorado, at the Columbine High School massacre. Furthermore, what a
Wayne I usually agree with you, but I tend to agree with Lynda on this one. MY SON BET NOT ACT A FOOL IN CLASS, OR HE WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH ME! His mother, his grandparents on both sides, as well as uncles and aunts on both sides. We have gotten away from that as a culture and as a society. Parents can’t handle their kids at home, then expect the teachers to handle them at school. Many kids got to Jr. High school with a criminal record already, so what do you expect a teacher to do, who is not trained in the fine arts of criminal law?
Now that the county is making money, and turning out booming businesses (according to chamber of commerce right?) they now need to turn focus on putting some of that money in these schools. Raising the bar for our children’s education, instead of saying or having the attitude that this is the best these kids can do.
However, if you have followed any of the numbers put out by the government on the USD500 schools. You will see that not only have they
All points taken but maybe instead of fleeing, we need to do something about it. Its our problem to correct.
How do you change and/or address this? More money (given to schools) is not always the answer, some problems can’t be fixed with additional money. How do you fix problems that carry over into the classroom that are initiated and is “customary” at the home????? Additionally, are there enough qualified teachers in Wyandotte County to support the ENTIRE district? Please give specific answers (not general) in your response.
IN RESPONSE TO MS. B: These issues, to be candid, should be addressed by Superintendent Dr. Jill Shackelford and KCK School Board officials. After all, it’s their responsibility to implement new and efficient strategies to educate their students. Hey, my article mirrors the events I observed during the tour. And, in my view, there was a serious disconnection (overall) between the teachers and students. Now that Election Day is over, it’s the residents’ duty to question the leadership and direction of public officials.
As for the parents, until economic conditions improve (Wyandotte County residents earn a measly $36,000 in median income; with a dismal poverty rate of 23%) you will continue to see impoverished households struggle to develop their children. This is not to suggest middle and upper class families are exempt from poor parenting practices. However, all statistics indicate that low income families struggle the most. Does money cure everything? No. But, when you take into c
I do agree that more needs to be done in the way of education of our children in USD 500 and that more starts at home. We know from the research that early reading is one of the best indicators of future success. I often wonder how many caregivers model and encourage the young people within their circle of influence to develop the habit of reading. Not just reading because one has an assignment but for the pure adventure and pleasure of being taken to places via the written word. AND this costs nothing but some time and involvement.
Mr. Hodges, I was a little taken aback in your comments regarding people leaving the district when your mailing address is not in the county. Hopefully, that is just where the busines is housed and you have made the personal commitmet like many to stay in the county. It is east to talk the talk but a bit more challenging to walk the walk. It seems to me a much larger question is how do we equip our citizens with those tools that lead to full citizen engage
Tell ‘em Wayne. I’m with ya brotha. Keep kickin’ that knowledge.
You couldn’t have been more accurate with this story. You nailed everything to the “T.” Great article! I wanna see more.
Wayne, this is a masterpiece. Consider it bookmarked.
I have to agree. KCK schools have gone down hill since the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Maybe KCK officials should consider hiring more teachers that live in the district. From what I understand, most of their teachers live out of town. I believe teachers perform more passionately when they have something vested within the community of students they teach. In KCK, I don’t believe this to be so.
i don’t know much about KCK schools but i hope this story isnt true
Wayne, my friend told me to read this article and i must say i appreciate you bringing these types of issues to the surface. My niece has had so many problems in public schools we had to take her out and put her in a private school. i live in Kansas City MO and the public schools here are not good at all. How can we expect our children to learn anything in such a bad environment???
wayne great article…some people dont want to hear the truth but this story has to be told. we can not expect our kids to learn anything when the environment is so bad. thanks for bringing this subject to the surface. we need more parents onboard
aint a whole lot you can do with no money for books and computers. we can blame the teachers all we want but urban schools are poorly funded.
we need some of these politicians to start doin their jobs and raisin enough money to get urban schools up to the level of schools in the suburbs. we can blame parents and teachers until we are blue in the face but money talks and bulls*** walks
That is the problem, we as “black people” and a society will never accomplish much here in WyCo, because we won’t voice our opinion where it counts (at city or school board meetings) (we complain to our neighbors and friends), we won’t vote in elections or we continuously vote the same people in, and WyCo is so hard on small business, that we will be in a continous hole! That is why me and my family decided to move to Atlanta! [back to the topic of our schools] Our school and district has made improvements, but there are so many things wrong that it is a shame parents haven’t stormed the District’s Board Meetings!! But when I used to go, I would be the only one or one of a few. Another point is when you have a Board with all these retired people on it, they are out of touch with what works for our kids of today!! The Benchmarks the Middle & high schoolers have to take, the laptop thing, etc., I think are programs that are flops!! Since I work for the District, I can comment on these th
Wayne you are so correct about OUR problem. Lynda is right when she say it starts at home. What about the children that got taken out of the home because their parent spanked that butt or the children are who parents on drug? We are their parents and role models. The words teach comes from the word teacher. The system SNATCH discipline from the parents a long time ago. We let them trade discipline, respect, and education for sex, violence, and drugs. It is better for them to get paid for dealing with our children rather than educate our children for college. I have raised seven boys and three of them are my birth boys. They went through KCKPS and all but one graduated. When the benchmarks kicked in, they dropped out. They are ages 24, 23, 22, 22, 20, 19, and 18. My oldest son cried over the phone after he was on the honor roll all his life in school. He made it to college and realized he didn’t learn anything he needed. He told me, “Mom, I am Dumb!” I cried with him because I felt I sh
outstanding article and excellent dialogue. the only way to solve our problems with the public school system is to talk then react. I am aware of the issues in KCK schools and I agree with Spiffy’s response. In urban america we tend to close our eyes on complicated issues yet we want to raise hell over issues that dont effect our children. We need to start gettin more involved in our kids education before we can start blaming teachers and administrators.
This was a good article focusing on the plight of the KCK urban school district. You are all too right about its image and the effect on attracting families to KCK. As you know, we are trying to market upscale, affordable housing in an extremely blighted part of this community. Even with major incentives, such as $20,000 cash to the buyers, a major deterrent for many has been the location within the KCK school district. Last year, we even had the school district participate with us as we marketed a series called “Festival of Fridays” which allowed the district the opportunity to showcase their achievements. It became obvious that if the district has made any achievements, that they have spent little attention on marketing and presenting them.
I am the Board Chairman of an early children’s development center in KCMO. We certainly are aware that this district leads the area in negative press. Our board, along with Mayor Funkhauser, the City, MARC, LINC, the School District, the Police
Hodges, i wanna say you’re wrong but i can’t. KCK schools do need some work. i don’t know what the problem is. is it money? is it the teachers? is it the parents? i don’t know. but the situation is out-of-control and the school board needs help. where is the superintendent? we need some answers. i will never give up on kck but i am hurt and disappointed that we are sending our beautiful children to substandard schools.
Education starts at home! Expectations are set at home! By the time a child enters school, they should be a self starter. It’s time out for running from problems, we’ve got to face them head on. Let’s get our head out of the sand and move the school board to provide what we need. If we need better teachers, let’s fight for them. That means when graduates of Harmon, Wyandotte, Turner, Washington, etc., go off to college, let’s move the school board to offer them incentives to bring that knowledge back home to KCK. If you KNOW education should be better in WYCO, bring your new found skills back home and help improve the educational environment. As the old adage goes, we as people will either go into a fight or flight mode. I was educated in District 500. Wyandotte HS, class of 71. Worked to receive my Masters and I chose to stay in Wyandotte County. When we receive degrees and go to outlying counties, it only hurts your home town. Have I seen better times in Wyandotte County, sure, but a
I don’t think WyCo will EVER change and I have grown too impatient to “just wait and see”! I see Reardon is thinking (or already decided) to be in the US House of Reps. That’s all he wanted anyway…he doesn’t truly care about WyCo!!
I agree with Hattie Smith. Running away is not the answer. As black people we always seem to run from our problems because we think it is so much better to live in white communities. We must start investing in our own schools and communities because thats the only way we will solve our problems.
Wayne I only blame us. We let everyone get paid to mislead us. We are the only race that pay all the taxes for everyone’s luxury. The rich is not paying our high taxes or insurance. The people who just got here is not tripping because they are not paying the taxes. we are. They get FREE insurance, FREE housing, and FREE food. They will not give me and my family anything FREE. They said I made 6 dollars too much to get food stamps. The Unified Government is raping us and we smile and give up all our hard earned money. I wonder why we cant live the good life. Go up to the court house any day between M-F. Everyone in Wyco is on their $50 dollars a moth payment plan. We can’ go to church, we can’t go to school, and we cant enjoy our life without the police harassing us. In fact, we pay them to harass and kill. PLEASE people let 2010 be our year to WIN!! They lock up brothers for PIMPING and SELLING DRUG but they make it a life long career off of us. Is this Okay with all of us??
Sorry Way
Spiffy I like your response. I am a life-long KCK resident and the taxes have always been high. And we still dont have good schools and nice parks for our children to play in. Instead of spending all of shopping money in johnson county we need to start investing in our own neighborhoods. The government is not going to do it. It is up to us to make a positive change in our communities.
his article has a lot of excellent points. i have forwarded it to my family and friends. keep up the good work!!!!!!
So what are you going to do about it (Wayne)? While I appreciate the article and comments, it's just another - "there's a problem for someone else to deal with" commentary. This is like giving teachers a life preserver kit and telling them to assemble it while they're drowning. I'd love to see a "here's the challenge and here's how I'm going to help fix it" article instead of the same old "let's hope parents and students react the same way" (because it's not up to me) article.
Well,I hope your friends who moved to Leavenworth County are avoiding the Leavenworth School District. The whole district is on improvement and is being run by a superintendent with 3 DUI's.
Wayne: I read your recap on the Unified Government of Wyandotte County’s approval of the much anticipated $400 million Cerner Corp/Kansas City Wizards project originally destined for Jackson County and the need now for the quality of schools to improve. I so agree with you. But the problem that I have is so many of the people that perhaps could do something about our plight with our schools are now on the outside looking in and telling all who remain in KCK what is wrong with our schools. Come on, if you’re really up for a challenge, come on back to your roots and lets fix this problem. You seem to have some of what it takes to get it done, and a black man too. Can you imagine putting black male role models in front of these young people. Some of whom have no male role models in their lives. Come on, let’s start a task force or do SOMETHING to hold the KCK school board and staff accountable for the education our children receive. I don’t have any school age children in the district any
i so agree with Hatties comments. Mr. Hodges you do make great points but from what i understand you no longer live in Wyandotte County. since you have a great understanding of the issues facing KCK residents why dont you offer some programs or services to help our children succeed. I can tell you are passionate about the things that are going on in KCK but i would like to see you in the public making a case for educational improvements.
KCK has a new superintendent so lets see what happens. I have been told she is no-nonsense and plans to contract out jobs.Lets give her a fair chance.
Hodges i dont care if you live in Beirut…the truth is the truth. Everybody knows KCK schools are bad but nobody wants to acknowledge it. You cant keep sweepin problems under the mat and expect somethin to change. People gotta get off they butts are start pitchin in. the school board cant do it by themselves. it takes money to make things right. not I.O.U.’s
Yeh Im witcha Dave. They gotta get off my boy’s back. I have known Wayne for years and consider him a good friend even though he’s a Kansas Jayhawk. The man is just spillin the truth. I personally believe all public schools in kansas and missouri suck. i heard some moron stole from the childrens lunch budget in KCK. whats up with that??? what else has school officials stolen??? Wayne i gotcha back partnah. Keep spillin that noise. U doin a great job!
I agree with Wayne to a curtain degree. I'm a JC Harmon graduate from the class of 91'. It was the same back then, lack of parent involvement, yes. But also the main issue was the teachers were not being properly training, and not equipped to handle disorderly kids. I recall teachers teaching multiple subjects that didn't relate to each other, i.e. Math and History. I can guarantee you if the kids are being taught like I was taught, then I can see why parents send their kids the different districts. I believe there are a lot of teacher that choose to teach the ones that want to be taught and leave the others alone, which is 100% wrong. I understand there are kids that are just not there to learn, so they need to be removed from the class room ASAP, because bad behavior breeds bad behavior. I also understand parents need to be held accountable, but the teachers are getting paid (not as much as they should) to do a job. If this was going on 20 years ago and still no change today, then parents move your kids, I did.
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